Wavves Wavvves

The idea of doing more with less is usually bullshit, but when it comes to music, the concept has some real merit. Take Wavves (a.k.a. 22-year-old San Diegan Nathan William), who managed to create a blown-out, beach-party noise-pop opus on a four-track in the confines of his bedroom. Wavvves is a noisy jumble of distorted surf-pop ditties, grungy guitar workouts, and tripped-out noise experiments. Uniting them all is a persistent haze of distortion—the busted-amp aesthetic is pervasive, to say the least. Fellow SoCal noise-punkers No Age are an obvious comparison, although Wavves is somehow both poppier and weirder, not to mention even more lo-fi. The stompy sunshine of “So Bored” has been lighting up the internet for months, and “No Hope Kids” and “Get In the Sun” are sure to follow suit.